Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Djokovic In Hard-Fought Tennis Cup Match

In the Tennis Cup, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz overcame Novak Djokovic, dropping the opening set, to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia.

After staging a huge boxing bout on Saturday, December 23, the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia hosted a competition between the greatest two active players in the sport. The contest took place as the city continued its big week of sports.

In the opening exchanges of the rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final, Djokovic appeared to be in better form. Despite Alcaraz’s fast start, the Asturian didn’t go down easily, winning the second set before taking the third to gain a significant confidence boost before the ATP Tour resumes.

The first set

In the first game of the match, the unorthodox Spaniard would grab the lead by breaking the seasoned Serbian, but Djokovic recovered quickly.

After Carlos Alcaraz committed a double fault, he won the next two games to seal the set 6-4. His renowned mental toughness was on display as he turned back three break points at 4-3 to determine the outcome of the match.

The second set

In the second game of the second set, the younger player broke Djokovic’s serve, just as the first set had. Nevertheless, the trend was broken when Alcaraz emerged victorious in the fourth game to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

Subsequently, the set lacked suspense as both players maintained their leads but were unable to overcome one another. Alcaraz concluded the match with the identical 6-4 score that had seen him lose the opening set.

The third set

In the first game of the third set, Djokovic was able to avoid breaking, but Alcaraz was also able to avoid breaking as they were level after the first few exchanges in the second game.

But in the third game, Djokovic had two break points to defend, and it would be the elder man who blinked first. He was able to pull off a successful one, but stumbled in the second, allowing Carlos Alcaraz to take the lead and eventually lead by three points.

When Alcaraz broke Djokovic again in the ninth game of the set, it was all or nothing. He needed to win the final game of the evening to seal the triumph, having jumped out to a 40-0 lead earlier in the match.